Lana

Europe pushed back, warning of roughly 93 billion euro in retaliatory levies, and even floating the idea of shutting US companies out of key parts of the bloc's market.

Everyone will be talking about levies this week.

For one,

The president is set to attend the World Economic Forum in person for the first time since 2020, with talks likely to center on finding a diplomatic way out of this spat.

And for another, the U.S.

Supreme Court is due to rule on the infamous April tariffs, when the president reached for a never-before-used emergency law to roll out widespread duties.

Investors are pretty used to tariffs by now.

Financial markets no longer lurch when there's a new threat, since traders know politicians will usually compromise on an outcome that limits the damage to trade.

Still, investors aren't made of steel.

They might not have completely panicked, but they did drive gold to a record high, snap up European defense stocks on the expectation of years of higher spending, and dump European automakers.

Any new tariffs could be nasty for their cross-border sales, after all.

Before we dive into the next story, it's time for our daily check-in with Carl.

You've got questions, he's got answers.

Carl, what have you got for us?

Thanks, Carl.

Next up.

China's economy grew around 5% in 2025, matching both last year's pace and the government's goal.

But the details show the country riding pretty close to the lip.

The Chinese economy only grew 4.5% in the last quarter of the year, its slowest pace since late 2022.

International shoppers are still placing orders with China's factories, which explains why industrial output rose by a better than expected 5.2% in December.